A Challenge of Love
by Strifegirl
Summary: Kushina wanted to prove that she was stronger than Minato and they've made a bet during their date at the festival. But there was more at stake than just a simple bet. Who will win? MinaKushi fluff
1. The Date

**"A Challenge of Love: The date."**

After his mission in Rouran, Minato returns to the village of Konoha with his team to deliver the report of the mission to Sandaime. However, Minato was a little anxious to get home, since he'd promised to take on a date to a certain redhead.

Every year in Konoha, there's a festival called Sakura Matsuri, which celebrates the changing seasons and welcomes the spring. As expected, Minato took this opportunity to ask Kushina out.

It's been almost a year since Minato and Kushina have been going out as a couple, though neither of them has officially committed since both spend too much time on their missions and they didn't have time for themselves. Kushina was promoted to one of the highest ranks in the Anbu squad and Minato was being considered as a candidate for Hokage, as one of the strongest Jounin in the village.

Meanwhile, Minato made haste to where they were supposed to meet. As he walked to the meeting point in all he could think about was what to say to Kushina. He knew that she would get in a bad mood if he doesn't arrive on time and he feared for his life. Kushina always had a very explosive temper, but there were times that proved to be quite the opposite. She was so full of surprises that may not know what to expect, and that's what he liked the most about Kushina.

Nevertheless, Minato was very happy to see her again. They haven't seen each other in a long time and he wanted to spend some time with her alone.

When he finally arrived at the meeting point, he starts looking for the redhead in the neighborhood, but he couldn't find her anywhere. Did she blow him off? Or perhaps she went on her own? Either way, it wasn't surprising because Kushina had always been very impulsive and she always did what she wanted and when she wanted. But then, he remembered that she also likes to climb the trees in order to avoid the crowd; so he concentrated his chakra in his feet and climbed the tree that was closer. Indeed, Kushina was sitting on a branch of the tree.

"There you are." He said smiling. Kushina didn't respond and simply ignores him. She was obviously very upset since she had been waiting for him nearly an hour and she hated being kept waiting.

"You're late-ttebane!" She said annoyed.

"Yeah, I know..." he scratched the back of his head. "Sandaime wanted to see the report from the mission and I was late because of that." He shrugged. "You know how it is..."

Annoyed, Kushina got up and tries to leave the place.

"May I ask where you're going?" he asked the redhead.

"I'm going Home!"

"And… What about our date?"

"Well, you lost your chance!" She exclaimed and held her head up while walking past. In a quick move, Minato took one of her hands to prevent her from leaving.

"Please, wait ..." He pleaded.

"Forget it, Minato!" She dropped her hand. "I've spent almost an hour waiting for you. Do you have any idea of how hungry I am?" She said with a frown.

Confused, Minato looks at her with a puzzled look. He had completely forgotten her huge appetite for Ramen and he was fighting a chuckle to see her frustration.

"It's not funny-ttebane!" She said excitedly. "If it wasn't for you, right now I would be enjoying a huge bowl of..." Her words were cut out when she felt Minato's lips on hers. Kushina was taken off guard and Minato took the opportunity to give her a kiss. It's been a while since their last meeting and he couldn't contain the urge to kiss her. Meanwhile, Kushina recovered from her shock and immediately responded the kiss in the same way. Although she didn't want to admit it but deep down inside, she had missed him too.

After a while, both of them separated from their lips for air and Minato wrapped his arms around her.

"I missed you..." he whispered in her ear.

Kushina blushed and let out a slight chuckle. "Oh really...?" She said arrogant and then closes her eyes as she gets carried away by his tender touch. Minato was the only one capable to calm the Bloody Habanero, and it was only natural, since she had a soft spot for him.

After several seconds, Minato releases the hold and placed his forehead on hers to see her in the eye.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." He said softly.

"But don't think I'll let you get away with this." She teased him and Minato simply smirked. He was already accustomed to her surprising mood swings.

"I'll do anything to make it up to you" He gave her another kiss.

"Hmm... In that case..." She said thoughtfully. "You'll have to invite me to eat Ramen for the rest of the month." She said with a smile.

Minato granted her request and went together to the post of Ramen to buy her dinner with the money he earned in his last mission. Luckily, he had saved enough to invite her to eat 10 meals of Ramen.

While Kushina devoured her plates of Ramen, Minato was stunned to see her eat like that. He couldn't believe how a girl as slender as she could eat so much Ramen and still keep that figure.

Kushina stopped eating for a moment and stared him back confused.

"What, you've never seen a girl eat?" she frowned. Minato smiled at her and took a napkin.

"Look, you've got something here ..." he took the food from her cheek with the napkin. Kushina blushed slightly when she saw his gaze on her and turned her head away to hide from his gaze. Minato smiled at her and Kushina shook her head frantically to remove the blush on her face and tries to break the awkward atmosphere.

"So tell me, how did it go with the mission in Rouran?" asked randomly.

"Well, we had some setbacks but eventually the mission was completed. I recommended Kakashi for this mission and he proved to be of much help. Sandaime told me that soon will be promoted to Jounin. Just hope Obito not take it so personal." He let out a slight laugh.

"There's no doubt in that. But I can understand the frustration of Obito." Kushina lowered her gaze. "Sometimes it's hard to accept when your opponent is stronger than you, even if you do your best, sometimes is just not enough..." she trailed off.

Minato felt the mood change so sudden and tried to cheer her up.

"But that doesn't mean he has to give up, right?" He said smiling.

"Kushina looked up again and smiled."Of course not-ttebane!"

"And what about you? Do you still think you can defeat me in combat?" he teased her.

Kushina's eyes lit up to hear him say that. "Are you challenging me?" She smirked.

"Maybe...?" he also smirked.

Kushina bit her lower lip and jumped from her seat. "All right! You and me in the battle field, now!" she shouted while pointing a finger to him.

"But what about our date?" He asked incredulously.

"THIS IS a date-ttebane!" She said excited and left the place running.

Minato had no choice but to pay the bill and he followed her to the training camp to carry on with the challenge. It's been a while since he had seen Kushina so excited and he couldn't say no to her.

To be continued...


	2. The Bet

**"A Challenge of Love: The Bet."**

Kushina was eager to show her new skills to Minato. She was always very competitive when it came to Minato and her desire of wanting to overcome him was the bond that united them.

"Hey, how about if we bet something to make it more interesting?" the blond said with a grin.

"Again with the bet?" Kushina frowned as she stretched her muscles.

"Why not? The last time was fun..." He said smiling and Kushina blushed a bit when she remembered that day.

* * *

_It was a hot day in Konoha. Kushina and Minato were preparing for the Chunnin trials and both decided to train together during every afternoon to improve their techniques._

_Kushina was never very skilled in ninjutsu, but she was very good with taijutsu. Minato on the other hand, was very skilled at almost everything, but he had trouble beating Kushina because she never gives up that easily and had the advantage of possessing the Kyubi chakra, which made her a difficult opponent to beat._

_The hours passed and they were exhausted by the trainin and was a matter of time before one of them fell to the ground exhausted._

_"I never thought it would be so much fun to fight against you." The redhead said while forcing a smile between gasps._

_"Likewise." the blonde replied with a smirk. Minato had always enjoyed these encounters with Kushina, as an excuse to have her around and be able to be with her more often. He always had feelings for the redhead but he never dared to tell her for fear that she would reject him. For now, he was okay just being friends with her._

_"I have an idea..." said the blonde. "How about if we make a bet?_

_"A bet?" she arched an eyebrow. "What kind of bet?" she aked puzzled._

_"If you win... I'll invite you to eat Ramen for the rest of the semester." He said smiling._

_"Hm... Sounds good to me!" she said excitedly. "And what happens if I lose?" She asked skeptically._

_"If you lose... you have to go on a date with me." He said blushing._

_Kushina blushed even more after hearing his respond. She was so flushed that her skin color matched with her hair._

_"What the hell are you saying-ttebane?" She said excitedly. "By no means I'll go out with a skinny ass like you!" She folded her arms and turned away._

_Minato let out a sigh to see her reaction and he trailed off to see that she had rejected him. "Well, I had to try, right?" he said to himself._

_"Okay, I will!" She said suddenly which surprised Minato. "A bet is a bet. And I hope you fulfill your part of the bargain or I'll turn you into cat food." She told him while pointing a finger._

_Minato couldn't believe what was hearing. Kushina was actually going to go out with him (that is if he defeated her) and couldn't help grinning like a fool. "Deal!" he replied cheerfully and Kushina turned her head slightly to look at him from the corner of her eye and she also smiled in secret. Even though he loose the bet, Minato was very happy because in some way, he will still go out with her anyway._

* * *

"So, what do you say?" he asked her again.

"All right. But don't think I'll fall for that twice. This time I'll make the rules."

"Okay." He smiled. "What are your conditions?"

"Hmm... Let's see, if I win ..." she said thoughtfully. "You'll have to invite me to eat Ramen for the rest of the year." She grinned.

"The whole year?" he said surprised. "Wow... there goes my savings..." he muttered to himself.

"Did you say something?" she asked excitedly.

"No, no, no, no ..! It was nothing!" he replied nervously. The last thing he wanted was to make her angry. Minato scratched the back of his head and let out a sigh. "So, what happens if I win?" he asked curious.

Kushina blushed a little and looked the other way. "If you win ..." She stared at him again a little embarrassed. "I'll go to every festival... with you." She said with her mouth stretched.

Minato's face lit up when he heard her other condition. "Really?"

"Yeah..." she said annoyed.

"And you'll get a Kimono?"

Kushina snaped when she heard that word. "A Kimono?" she asked indignantly. "Are you crazy-ttebane? She said excitedly.

"I've never seen you wearing a Kimono and I would really like to see you in one. I bet you look beautiful." He said smiling.

Kushina blushed even more after hearing his comment. "Shut up!" she shout embarrassed and had no choice but to accept their terms. "Okay." He said annoyed. "I'll wear a stupid Kimono." She crossed her arms.

Satisfied, Minato smiled like a dork and then prepared for combat.

"Are you ready?"

"I was born ready!" She said smiling.

And without further ado, they started the fight.

Kushina began with a frontal assault by using her skills in taijutsu. She had always been very good at it and Minato knew almost her every move. However, she was very confident since she had an ace up her sleeve and wouldn't hesitate to use it. She knew that Minato was strong and fast but he had a weakness that made him vulnerable.

After dodging all the attacks, Kushina used a smog pump to conceal her movements from him. She had to prevent him from touching her, otherwise he would use his teleportation technique in her. Minato on the other hand, focused to feel the flow of chakra to find her location. Suddenly several kunai were thrown at him in different directions, which he dodged without a problem, but he didn't realize he was about to fall into a trap. Kushina turbed the whole place into a minefield of explosive scrolls. Minato saw the explosives and just before she exploded it all, he threw his kunai in another direction and appeared on the other side in an instant.

"That was close ..." He said relieved.

"I'm still not done with." He heard a female voice coming from behind.

Kushina confronted him again using his taijutsu and if had it not been for his quick reflexes, Kushina would have ended by knocking him out with a tremendous kick to his face. Minato was able to block his attacks and tried to take her down with a trip, but she dodges it with a backflip. When she landed on her feet, a pair of arms surrounded her while Minato pointed his kunai at her throat. He had managed to mark her with his seal on the previous confrontation and appeared from behind.

"You've improved a lot ..." he whispered gently.

Kushina laughed at this and turned her head slightly to look at him. "You haven't seen anything yet..." she replied with a smile and in a blink of an eye, Kushina disappeared.

"Kage Bunshin?" He said surprised.

"Hiyaaaaa!" He heard the cry of Kushina and Minato had no time to react when she already was above him. The attack was just a big huge 'attack hug' which made them fall.

And with that Minato had lost the fight.

"Ha, I beat you!" She said in triumph.

"You really hate Kimonos, don't you?" He said a little sore.

"There's no way I'll wear a Kimono. Is not my style." she said proudly.

Minato chuckled. "I guess you're right." He smiled tenderly.

"Well," Kushina got up and shook the dust from her clothes. "We better hurry or we'll be late for the festival."

"But ... you've just won the bet." He said confused.

Kushina scoffed the comment. "Do you really think I'm that stupid?" She frowned. "You didn't even tried!" she said indignantly and turned away. Kushina hated to lose, but she hated even more when he let her win. Both knew that fight was nothing more than a simple training combat.

Embarrassed, Minato scratched the back of his head.

"I'm sorry." He said embarrassed. "You know me very well and you know I can't hit a girl, especially if it's you." He blushed.

Kushina let out a sigh. "I know. But still ..." She turned. "Don't ever do that again, you hear me?" She took his shirt." I'm not like the other wimps who get to mourn for a simple bruise. I'm Kushina Uzumaki, the bloody Habanero! "In her eyes could see the fire burning inside and Minato began to feel chills to see his eyes full of anger.

"Y-Yes, what-whatever you say..." he said nervously.

Satisfied, Kushina released him from her grasp and then stood up to follow her. However, his footsteps stopped and Kushina turned around to see what was wrong with him.

"Is something wrong?" she asked confused.

"Kushina, there's something I want to ask you, before going to the festival ..." Minato's face suddenly changed.

"What is it?" she asked curious.

It was now or never, he had to tell her or he would never get another chance.

"Ku-Kushina, I ..." his voice cracked. Confused by his strange behavior, Kushina comes close and looks into his eyes. That made things even worse for Minato, since he was fighting to contain the blush.

"Tell me ... what's wrong?" said the redhead.

"Well, I ... I uh ... would like to... you ..." his words were drowned in her throat.

"Aw come on now, tell me already!" she said exasperated.

Minato took a deep breath and said... "I want you to be my girlfriend!" he said loudly.

Kushina was stunned to hear what he just said and couldn't respond because of the shock.

"I know it's a little sudden ... but I really would like to make our relationship more serious." He blushed. Silence surrounded them and they didn't know what to say to avoid the awkward atmosphere. Once again, Minato tried to ask her again. "Kushina, would you like to..."

"No!" She said suddenly, taking Minato by surprise. "I don't want to be your girlfriend..." She said seriously.

Minato's face was sad to hear her response. His heart was about to break into pieces until Kushina approached him and took his face to kiss him. Minato was shocked to feel her sweet and soft lips on his. After a while, they separated their lips to see each other in the eye.

"I want to be your wife." She whispered gently.

Surprised, Minato opened his eyes in amazement. He wasn't expecting that reaction from her, and neither her answer.

"Are you for real?" he asked puzzled.

"Do you think I would joke with something like that?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know... I hope not..." he said hopefully.

"I love you, Minato. I've always loved you..." she said blushing as she got lost in his deep blue eyes.

"Kushina ..."

Overwhelmed, Minato took her in his arms and kissed her passionately, and that's when the fireworks began. He had waited many years to hear that and finally he was able to live the moment of his dreams. Both were very much in love, but none of them had the courage to admit it and now they would live a lifetime together trying to make up for the lost time.

THE END.

* * *

**_A/N: I adore this couple so much! :3 And I made another MinaKushi fic for them :3  
I gotta say that I really enjoyed writing this story cuz I've always find it so hilarious how Kushina is always in a bad mood and poor Minato has to come up with any idea to make her happy XDD_**

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it ;D and there's still one more chapter ahead ;D but it will depend on how much review I'll get ;D

**_See ya! :D_**


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